Jack Shelley
Jack Shelley is a 15-year-old Human-Transylian reruma and a member of Zach Shiyurei's Initiates. Unlike most rerumas, Jack was born fully human, and gained his alien DNA during a military experiment conducted by King Gyula of Zarkovia. After fleeing his home country to England, Jack was recruited by Zach Shiyurei, who promised him revenge against humanity. Biography Background Jack Shelley was born in the Eastern European country of Zarkovia, a small but powerful monarchy in a strategically significant area. During World War II, Zarkovia was invaded by Germany, which overthrew the Zarkovian monarchy. In the closing years of the war, the USSR drove Germany out of Zarkovia and seized control of the country, establishing a communist state. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Zarkovia's absolute monarchy was restored by King Xarion, whose strength and resolve united many of the nation's people. However, in 1993, opposition to King Xarion's dictatorship led to the rise of a pro-communist insurrection, beginning the Zarkovian Civil War, which has raged on without end for more than 42 years. As King Xarion grew old and weak, his reign came to be challenged by his son, Prince Gyula. In 2011, Zarkovian scientists recovered the preserved body of Dr. Viktor, a Transylian criminal who had previously been sent to the Null Void by a deranged Kevin Levin. Gyula intended to control Dr. Viktor, turning him into a weapon of mass destruction against the rebels. Xarion, however, saw an opportunity to re-consolidate his power. As part of his plan, Xarion requested the aid of Ben Tennyson to take Viktor's body into custody. When Ben, Gwen, and Kevin reached Zarkovia, however, Xarion waited for them to be captured by Gyula, then used Ben's alien AmpFibian (an Amperi) to transfer his mind into Viktor's body. King Viktor was defeated by Ben, who then left the country in order to avoid breaking international laws; Xarion was then hanged by Gyula, who assumed absolute control of the country. Between 2011 and 2030, King Gyula had his military science division perform many experiments with Viktor's body and other alien technologies. Many of Gyula's military forces used illegal alien technology against the rebels; the Plumbers intended to intervene with a galactic sanction, but their devastation during the Twilight War prevented this from happening. In the late 2020s, Gyula began a secret project to infuse human subjects with alien DNA and make them weapons against the rebels, known as Project Blackbird. Early Life The boy who would someday be Jack Shelley was born in Zarkovia in the midst of the civil war. His parents and were rebel sympathizers and the owners of an inn where rebel munitions were kept hidden. In 2030, Gyula's forces raided the inn and killed all of the boy's family members, but Gyula himself had the boy spared, seeing him as an ideal candidate for Project Blackbird. The boy was subjected to inhumane experiments to enhance his physical abilities with alien DNA, culminating in an experiment which had his DNA fused with that of Viktor, turning him into a reruma. Gyula saw great potential in the boy and believed he would be the ultimate weapon against the rebels; however, due to his immense power and mental instability, the reruma eventually broke away from Gyula's control and fled the country into neighboring Romania. The reruma boy eventually made his way to London, England, where he assumed the name "Jack Shelley" and lived in the city's slums. He was consistently alienated and hated for his reruma traits, and many "monster hunts" were organized by the fearful denizens of the city, particularly the Earth-Space Severance Society. Jake was eventually discovered by Zach Shiyurei, who invited Jack to join his Initiates alongside Sitre and Luna Long, promising revenge against humanity for their treatment of him. Trivia * Jack Shelley is named after Mary Shelley, the author of ''Frankenstein. ''Frankenstein's monster was the primary inspiration for the Tranyslian species in the original ''Ben 10 ''series. Gallery Jack Shelley.png Jake.png Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Rerumas Category:Initiates